New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices could see a further dip as India has decided to release five million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves.
The decision was taken after the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, held a meeting with officials of the leading oil marketing companies in Delhi on Tuesday.
These releases have been followed in after negotiations with major oil consumers around the world, including the US, China, Japan and Korea. However, the drop in prices would not be a long-term thing if the oil producing nations do not rethink over the soaring prices of their crude oil.
India has expressed concern over oil producing countries trying to bring down processed oil supplies below the demand levels, which is being reflected in rising petroleum and consumer goods prices all over the world.
India consumes 50 to 55 lakh barrels of Petroleum products daily, and this why the Central Government has agreed with major countries to release its Petroleum Reserves. This is an effort to put additional pressure on OPEC countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to increase production and reduce price of petroleum products.
In a bid to control inflationary pressures, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been constantly reviewing the high prices of petrol and diesel in the domestic market.
On November 3, the Government of India reduced Central Excise Duty on Petrol and Diesel by Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 respectively. Many State Governments soon followed suit by reducing taxes to reduce the prices further. Despite the huge financial burden on the government, these difficult steps were taken to provide relief to the citizens.